Ez a bankkártya.

In Hungarian, the verb to be is often left out in the present tense, third person when the predicate is a noun or adjective.

So:

• Ez a bankkártya. = This is the bank card.
• literally, it looks more like This the bank card.

This is normal Hungarian, not an omission or mistake.

Compare:

• Ez nagy. = This is big.
• Ő tanár. = He/She is a teacher.

But Hungarian does use forms of to be in other situations, for example:

• past tense: Ez bankkártya volt. = This was a bank card.
• location: Itt van. = It is here.
• negative: Ez nem bankkártya. = This is not a bank card.

Ez means this.

It is the Hungarian near demonstrative, used for something close to the speaker or something being pointed out.

Compare:

• ez = this
• az = that

So:

• ez a bankkártya = this bank card
• az a bankkártya = that bank card

Because in Hungarian, when ez or az comes directly before a noun, you normally also use the definite article.

So Hungarian says:

• ez a bankkártya = literally this the bank card
• az a ház = that house

This is just how the structure works in Hungarian.

Important: this a means the, not English a/an.

• a / az = the
• egy = a/an

It can mean either one, depending on context.

As a noun phrase:

• ez a bankkártya = this bank card

Example:

• Ez a bankkártya új. = This bank card is new.

As a full sentence:

• Ez a bankkártya. = This is the bank card.

Because Hungarian often omits is, the same words can function as a complete sentence.

The period and the context usually tell you it is a full sentence.

Because Ez egy bankkártya means something different:

• Ez egy bankkártya. = This is a bank card.
• Ez a bankkártya. = This is the bank card / this bank card

So the difference is indefinite vs definite:

• egy = a/an
• a/az = the

Use egy when you are classifying something as one example of a type. Use a/az when the thing is definite or already identifiable.

Normally, no.

When ez comes directly before a noun, standard Hungarian uses the article:

• ez a bankkártya ✓
• ez bankkártya ✗

So for beginners, it is safest to learn this as a fixed pattern:

• ez a + noun
• az a + noun

Examples:

• ez a könyv = this book
• ez a ház = this house
• az a szék = that chair

Yes, bankkártya is one word.

It is a compound noun:

• bank = bank
• kártya = card

So:

• bank + kártya → bankkártya

The double kk appears because the first part ends in k and the second part begins with k.

This is very common in Hungarian compounds.

A rough guide is:

bankkártya ≈ BONK-kaar-tyaw

A few key points:

• á is a long vowel, roughly like a in father
• ty is a single Hungarian consonant, a soft t sound
• the stress is on the first syllable: BANKkártya

A more detailed pronunciation note:

• bank is pronounced with a sound close to bonk
• kár has a long á
• tya is not tee-ya; ty is one consonant sound

A simple rough pronunciation is:

Ez a bankkártya.
≈ EZ aw BONK-kaar-tyaw

More carefully:

• Ez = sounds roughly like ez in bed
  • z
• a = a short Hungarian a, not the English article sound in uh
• bankkártya = stressed on the first syllable

Hungarian word stress is very regular: it usually falls on the first syllable of each word.

So:

• EZ
• a
• BANKkártya

No. Hungarian does not have grammatical gender like many European languages.

So bankkártya is not masculine, feminine, or neuter, and the article does not change for gender.

That means you do not have to memorize noun genders for a sentence like this.

This is one reason Hungarian grammar can feel simpler than languages such as German or French in this area.

It is in the basic dictionary form:

• singular
• nominative (the plain subject/predicate form)
• with no case ending attached

So here you are seeing the noun in its simplest form.

For comparison, if it were the direct object, it would look different:

• bankkártya = bank card
• bankkártyát = bank card as a direct object

Example:

• Látom a bankkártyát. = I see the bank card.

The neutral, normal order here is:

• Ez a bankkártya.

Hungarian word order is flexible, but changes usually add emphasis, contrast, or a special discourse effect.

So a learner should treat Ez a bankkártya as the standard pattern.

For basic use, stick with:

• Ez a ...
• Az a ...

That will sound natural and correct.